Method and apparatus for transmitting data

ABSTRACT

A method for transmitting data includes a first primary network device receives measurement result information of a secondary network device sent by a terminal device during access to the first primary network device, the measurement result information being used for indicating the quality of a link between the secondary network device and the terminal device; the first primary network device determines, according to the quality of the link between the secondary network device and the terminal device, to establish a secondary connection between the secondary network device and the terminal device; the first primary network device establishes the secondary connection. Thus the transmission load of the first primary network device can be reduced.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to the field of communication, and moreparticularly to a method and device for data transmission.

BACKGROUND

In a deployment scenario of a non-standalone network, a terminal devicemay receive or transmit data through both of a Long Term Evolution (LTE)network and a New Radio (NR) network. Such a technology may be called amultiple (dual) connectivity technology.

A primary connection and one or more secondary connections exist inmultiple (dual) connections of the terminal device. The primaryconnection is a network connection between the terminal device and aprimary network device, and the secondary connection is a networkconnection between the terminal device and a secondary network device.For example, in a deployment scenario of an LTE & NR cell, the primarynetwork device may be a network device of the LTE network, and thesecondary network device may be a network device of the NR network.Control-plane data of the terminal device is transmitted through aprimary link. User-plane data of the terminal device may be divided intotwo paths for simultaneous transmission through the primary connectionand the secondary connection, so as to increase a user-plane datathroughput. Or the user-plane data may also be transmitted only throughthe secondary connection, thereby reducing a load of the primary networkdevice. However, offloading of the user-plane data or the control-planedata is only implemented in a data transmission process. Along withincrease of a network throughput, the transmission load of the primarynetwork device increases. Therefore, it is necessary to further improvea capability of the secondary network device in offloading data of theprimary network device.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the disclosure provide a method and device for datatransmission, which may reduce a transmission load of a primary networkdevice.

A first aspect provides a method for data transmission, which mayinclude that: a first primary network device receives measurement resultinformation of a secondary network device, transmitted by a terminaldevice in a process of accessing the first primary network device, themeasurement result information being configured to indicate link qualitybetween the secondary network device and the terminal device; the firstprimary network device determines to establish a secondary connectionbetween the secondary network device and the terminal device accordingto the link quality between the secondary network device and theterminal device; and the first primary network device establishes thesecondary connection.

In such case, the terminal device may transmit the measurement resultinformation of the secondary network device to the first primary networkdevice in the process of accessing the first primary network device, thefirst primary network device, after receiving the measurement resultinformation of the terminal device, determines that the secondaryconnection between the secondary network device and the terminal deviceis required to be established according to the measurement resultinformation, then the first primary network device establishes thesecondary connection and the terminal device transmits data through thesecondary connection. In such a manner, the terminal device transmitsthe measurement result information of the secondary network device tothe first primary network device in the access process, so that the datamay be offloaded to the secondary network device as soon as possible,the data may be offloaded for the first primary network device throughthe secondary connection established by the first primary network deviceas soon as possible, and a transmission load of the first primarynetwork device may be reduced.

Alternatively, the secondary connection is configured to transmitcontrol-plane data and/or user-plane data. In a conventional art, onlythe user-plane data is shared for the first primary network device in adata connection process. In such case, the secondary connectionestablished by the first primary network device in the process that theterminal device accesses the first primary network device may not onlyoffload the user-plane data for the first primary network device butalso offload the control-plane data for the first primary networkdevice. Therefore, an offloading capability of the secondary networkdevice for the primary network device is further improved, and thetransmission load of the first primary network device is reduced.

In a first possible implementation mode of the first aspect, theoperation that the first primary network device receives the measurementresult information of the secondary network device, transmitted by theterminal device in the process of accessing the first primary networkdevice, may include that: the first primary network device receives themeasurement result information carried in a Radio Resource Control (RRC)connection establishment request message or an RRC connectionestablishment complete message.

In the embodiments of the disclosure, the process that the terminaldevice accesses the first primary network device may be as follows. Theterminal device in an idle state transmits the RRC connectionestablishment request message to the first primary network device, orthe terminal device transmits the RRC connection establishment completemessage to the first primary network device. Both of the two messagesmay carry the measurement result information of the secondary networkdevice. Then, when the terminal device in the idle state has data to betransmitted, the measurement result information is transmitted to thefirst primary network device through the two messages in the accessprocess as soon as possible, so that the secondary network device mayoffload the data for the first primary network device as soon aspossible, and the transmission load of the first primary network deviceis further reduced.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation mode ofthe first aspect, in a second possible implementation mode of the firstaspect, the operation that the first primary network device receives themeasurement result information of the secondary network device,transmitted by the terminal device in the process of accessing theprimary network device, may include that: the first primary networkdevice receives the measurement result information carried in a handoverrequest message of a second primary network device, the handover requestmessage being further configured to request a network device serving theterminal device to be switched from the second primary network device tothe first primary network device.

In the embodiments of the disclosure, the process that the terminaldevice accesses the first primary network device may be as follows. In aprocess of switching the second primary network device to the firstprimary network device, the second primary network device is a sourcenetwork device and the first primary network device is a target networkdevice. Specifically, the measurement result information of thesecondary network device may be carried in the handover request messagetransmitted to the first primary network device by the second primarynetwork device. The terminal device measures the secondary networkdevice and carries the generated measurement result information in ameasurement report transmitted to the second primary network device. Thesecond primary network device, when receiving the measurement report,acquires the measurement result information of the secondary networkdevice in the measurement report. The second primary network device,responsive to determining to handover according to the measurementreport, carries the measurement result information of the secondarynetwork device in the handover request message transmitted to the firstprimary network device. The first primary network device, when receivingthe handover request message, transmits the measurement resultinformation of the secondary network device in the handover requestmessage to the secondary network device. In such a manner, the secondarynetwork device may offload the data for the first primary network deviceas soon as possible when handover is implemented.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation modes ofthe first aspect, in a third possible implementation mode of the firstaspect, the operation that the first primary network device receives themeasurement result information of the secondary network device,transmitted by the terminal device in the process of accessing theprimary network device, may include that: the first primary networkdevice receives the measurement result information carried in a handovercomplete message from the terminal device, the handover complete messagebeing further configured to indicate that the network device serving theterminal device has been switched from the second primary network deviceto the first primary network device.

In the embodiments of the disclosure, the process that the terminaldevice accesses the first primary network device may also be a processthat the terminal device transmits the handover complete message to thefirst primary network device in a handover process, and the measurementinformation may be carried in the handover complete message fortransmitting to the first primary network device.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation modes ofthe first aspect, in a fourth implementation mode of the first aspect,the operation that the first primary network device establishes thesecondary connection may include that: after the first primary networkdevice receives the handover request message transmitted by the secondprimary network device, the first primary network device transmits anacknowledgement message of the handover request message to the secondprimary network device, the acknowledgement message of the handoverrequest message carrying configuration information of the secondaryconnection to enable the second network device to transmit theconfiguration information of the secondary connection to the terminaldevice and the configuration information of the secondary connectionbeing configured to establish the secondary connection between thesecondary network device and the terminal device.

In the embodiments of the disclosure, the first primary network deviceis required to acquire the configuration information of the secondaryconnection for establishment of the secondary connection. When thesecond primary network device transmits the handover request message tothe first primary network device, the configuration information of thesecondary connection may be carried in the acknowledgement message ofthe handover request message, returned to the second primary networkdevice by the first primary network device. Then, before handover, thesecond primary network device may transmit the configuration informationof the secondary connection to the terminal device to enable theterminal device to establish the secondary connection with the secondarynetwork device as soon as possible in the process of accessing the firstnetwork device.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation modes ofthe first aspect, in a fifth implementation mode of the first aspect,before the operation that the first primary network device receives themeasurement result information of the secondary network device,transmitted by the terminal device in the process of accessing theprimary network device, the method may further include that: the firstprimary network device transmits first indication information to theterminal device, the first indication information being configured toinstruct the terminal device to transmit the measurement resultinformation to the first primary network device, wherein the operationthat the first primary network device receives the measurement resultinformation of the secondary network device, transmitted by the terminaldevice in the process of accessing the primary network device, mayinclude that: the first primary network device receives the measurementresult information transmitted by the terminal device according to thefirst indication information.

In the embodiments of the disclosure, the first primary network deviceis required to transmit the first indication information to the terminaldevice to instruct the terminal device to report the measurement resultinformation of the secondary network device. For example, the firstindication information indicates a report manner for the measurementresult information of the secondary network device and a report time,specifically bytes occupied by the reported information and the like.

Alternatively, before the operation that the first primary networkdevice transmits the first indication information to the terminaldevice, the method further includes that: the terminal device maytransmit third indication information to the first primary networkdevice, and the first primary network device receives the thirdindication information from the terminal device, the third indicationinformation being configured to indicate whether the terminal devicestores result indication information of the secondary network device ornot. Furthermore, the terminal device may carry the third indicationinformation in an uplink message transmitted to the first primarynetwork device. For example, if a special byte location in a certainuplink message is 0, it is indicated that the terminal device does notstore measurement indication information and, if the special bytelocation is 1, it is indicated that the terminal device stores themeasurement indication information. When receiving the third indicationinformation transmitted by the terminal device, the first primarynetwork device, responsive to determining that the terminal devicestores the measurement result indication information, transmits thefirst indication information to the terminal device to instruct theterminal device to report the measurement result information.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation modes ofthe first aspect, in a sixth implementation mode of the first aspect,the operation that the first primary network device establishes thesecondary connection may include that: the first primary network devicetransmits a secondary connection addition request message to thesecondary network device, the secondary connection addition requestmessage being configured to request the secondary network device to beadded as a network device for data transmission; the first primarynetwork device receives an acknowledgement message of the secondaryconnection addition request message from the secondary network device,the acknowledgement message of the secondary connection addition requestmessage carrying the configuration information of the secondaryconnection and the configuration information of the secondary connectionbeing configured to establish the secondary connection between thesecondary network device and the terminal device; the first primarynetwork device acquires the configuration information of the secondaryconnection, and the first primary network device transmits theconfiguration information of the secondary connection to the terminaldevice.

In the embodiments of the disclosure, the first primary network deviceis required to acquire the configuration information of the secondaryconnection for establishment of the secondary connection. Specifically,the first primary network device may transmit the secondary connectionaddition request message to the secondary network device, the secondaryconnection addition request message carrying the measurement resultinformation. The secondary network device, when receiving the secondaryconnection addition request message, determines whether establishment ofthe secondary connection is allowed or not according to the measurementresult information in the secondary connection addition request messageand its own load condition and, responsive to determining thatestablishment of the secondary connection is allowed, returns theacknowledgement message of the secondary connection addition requestmessage to the first primary network device, the acknowledgement messagecarrying the configuration information of the secondary connection. Thesecondary network device, responsive to determining that establishmentof the secondary connection is not allowed, returns failure indicationinformation to the first primary network device to indicate a cause of asecondary connection establishment failure. Then, the first primarynetwork device, when subsequently receiving the same measurement result,may select not to transmit the secondary connection addition requestmessage to the secondary network device according to the cause of thesecondary connection establishment failure. Power consumption of thefirst primary network device is further reduced.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation modes ofthe first aspect, in a seventh implementation mode of the first aspect,the operation that the first primary network device determines toestablish the secondary connection between the secondary network deviceand the terminal device according to the measurement result informationmay include that: the first primary network device determines toestablish the secondary connection between the secondary network deviceand the terminal device according to a load condition of the firstprimary network device and the measurement result information.

Specifically, when the measurement result information of the secondarynetwork device indicates that the secondary network device is in goodnetwork condition and a present load of the first primary network deviceis heavy, the secondary connection is determined to be established tooffload the data for the first primary network device. When themeasurement result information of the secondary network device indicatesthat the secondary network device is in ordinary network condition andthe load of the primary network device is light, the secondaryconnection may not be established.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation modes ofthe first aspect, in an eighth implementation mode of the first aspect,the method may further include that: the first primary network devicetransmits configuration information of a primary connection to theterminal device, the configuration information of the primary connectionbeing configured for the terminal device to establish the primaryconnection with the first primary network device and the primaryconnection being configured for data transmission.

In the embodiments of the disclosure, the secondary connection betweenthe terminal device and the secondary network device may be configuredfor data transmission and the primary connection between the terminaldevice and the first primary network device may also be configured fordata transmission. When the primary connection between the first primarynetwork device and the terminal device transmits the data, theconfiguration information of the primary connection and theconfiguration information of the secondary connection are required to betransmitted to the terminal device. Specifically, the configurationinformation of the primary connection and the configuration informationof the secondary connection are transmitted to the terminal devicetogether. For example, the configuration information of the primaryconnection and the configuration information of the secondary connectionmay be transmitted to the terminal device together through an RRCconnection reconfiguration message. Then, the terminal device, afterreceiving the configuration information of the two connections,transmits the data according to the configuration information of the twoconnections respectively.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation modes ofthe first aspect, in a ninth implementation mode of the first aspect,the first primary network device may be a network device in an LTEnetwork and the secondary network device may be a network device in a5th-Generation (5G) network.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation modes ofthe first aspect, in a tenth implementation mode of the first aspect,the secondary connection may be configured to transmit firstcontrol-plane data and/or user-plane data.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation modes ofthe first aspect, in an eleventh implementation mode of the firstaspect, the acknowledgement message of the secondary connection additionrequest message may further carry identification information of at leastone secondary cell and the at least one secondary cell may be a cellserved by the secondary network device; and after the operation that thefirst primary network device determines to establish the secondaryconnection between the secondary network device and the terminal deviceaccording to the measurement information, the method may further includethat: the first primary network device transmits the identificationinformation of the at least one secondary cell to the terminal device toenable the terminal device to access the at least one secondary cellaccording to the identification information.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation modes ofthe first aspect, in a twelfth implementation mode of the first aspect,after the operation that the first primary network device establishesthe secondary connection, the method may further include that: the firstprimary network device transmits second indication information to thesecondary network device, the second indication information beingconfigured to instruct the secondary network device to transmit thefirst control-plane data.

A second aspect provides a method for data transmission, wherein aterminal device transmits measurement result information of a secondarynetwork device to a first primary network device in a process ofaccessing the first primary network device to enable the first primarynetwork device to acquire configuration information of a secondaryconnection according to the measurement result information, themeasurement result information being configured to indicate link qualitybetween the secondary network device and the terminal device, theterminal device receives the configuration information of the secondaryconnection from the first primary network device, and the terminaldevice accesses the secondary network device according to theconfiguration information of the secondary connection.

In a first possible implementation mode of the second aspect, theoperation that the terminal device transmits the measurement resultinformation of the secondary network device to the first primary networkdevice in the process of accessing the first primary network device mayinclude that: the terminal device transmits the measurement resultinformation to the first primary network device through an RRCconnection establishment request message or an RRC connectionestablishment complete message.

In the abovementioned possible implementation mode of the second aspect,in a second implementation mode of the second aspect, the operation thatthe terminal device transmits the measurement result information of thesecondary network device to the first primary network device in theprocess of accessing the first primary network device may include that:the terminal device transmits the measurement result information to thefirst primary network device through a second primary network device,the measurement result information being carried in a measurement reporttransmitted to the second primary network device by the terminal deviceto enable the second primary network device to transmit a handoverrequest message to the first primary network device according to themeasurement report, the handover request message carrying themeasurement result information and the handover request message beingfurther configured to request a network device serving the terminaldevice to be switched from the second primary network device to thefirst primary network device.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation modes ofthe second aspect, in a third implementation mode of the second aspect,the operation that the terminal device transmits the measurement resultinformation of the secondary network device to the first primary networkdevice in the process of accessing the primary network device mayinclude that: the terminal device transmits the measurement resultinformation to the first primary network device through a handovercomplete message, the handover complete message being further configuredto indicate that the network device serving the terminal device has beenswitched from the second primary network device to the first primarynetwork device.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation modes ofthe second aspect, in a fourth implementation mode of the second aspect,before the operation that the terminal device transmits the measurementresult information of the secondary network device to the first primarynetwork device in the process of accessing the primary network device,the method may further include that: the terminal device receives firstindication information transmitted by the first primary network device,the first indication information being configured to instruct theterminal device to transmit the measurement result information to thefirst primary network device, wherein the operation that the terminaldevice transmits the measurement result information of the secondarynetwork device to the first primary network device in the process ofaccessing the primary network device may include that: the terminaldevice transmits the measurement result information to the first primarynetwork device in the process of accessing the first primary networkdevice according to the first indication information.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation modes ofthe second aspect, in a fifth implementation mode of the second aspect,before the operation that the terminal device transmits the measurementresult information of the secondary network device to the first primarynetwork device in the process of accessing the first primary networkdevice, the method may further include that: when channel qualitybetween the terminal device and the secondary network device meets apreset condition; the terminal device transmits the measurement resultinformation to the first primary network device in the process ofaccessing the first primary network device.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation modes ofthe second aspect, in a sixth implementation mode of the second aspect,the method may further include that: the terminal device receivesconfiguration information of a primary connection from the first primarynetwork device, the configuration information of the primary connectionbeing configured for the terminal device to establish the primaryconnection with the first primary network device and the primaryconnection being configured for data transmission.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation modes ofthe second aspect, in a seventh implementation mode of the secondaspect, before the operation that the terminal device accesses thesecondary network device according to the configuration information ofthe secondary connection, the method may further include that: theterminal device receives identification information of at least onesecondary cell from the first primary network device, the at least onesecondary cell being a cell served by the secondary network device,wherein the terminal device may access the secondary network deviceaccording to the configuration information of the secondary connection,and the terminal may access the secondary network device according tothe configuration information of the secondary connection and theidentification information of the at least one secondary cell.

A third aspect provides a method for data transmission, which mayinclude that: a second primary network device receives measurementresult information transmitted by a terminal device, the measurementresult information being configured to indicate link quality between asecondary network device and the terminal device.

The second primary network device transmits the measurement resultinformation to a first primary network device to enable the firstprimary network device to determine to establish a secondary connectionbetween the secondary network device and the terminal device accordingto the measurement result information, the first network device being atarget network device for handover of the terminal device and the secondnetwork device being a source network device for handover of theterminal device.

In a first possible implementation mode of the third aspect, theoperation that the second primary network device receives themeasurement result information transmitted by the terminal device mayinclude that: the second primary network device receives the measurementresult information carried in a measurement report, wherein the secondprimary network device may transmit the measurement result informationto the first primary network device in a process of handover to thefirst primary network device, including that: the second primary networkdevice transmits the measurement result information to the first primarynetwork device through a handover request message, the handover requestmessage being further configured to request a network device serving theterminal device to be switched from the second primary network device tothe first primary network device.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation mode ofthe third aspect, in a second implementation mode of the third aspect,after the operation that the second primary network device transmits themeasurement result information to the first primary network devicethrough the handover request message, the method may further includethat: the second primary network device receives configurationinformation, carried in an acknowledgement message of the handoverrequest message, of the secondary connection from the first primarynetwork device, the configuration information of the secondaryconnection being configured to establish the secondary connectionbetween the secondary network device and the terminal device, and thesecond primary network device transmits the configuration information ofthe secondary connection to the terminal device.

A fourth aspect provides a method for data transmission, which mayinclude that: a secondary network device receives a secondary connectionaddition request message transmitted by a first primary network device,the secondary connection addition request message being configured torequest a secondary connection between the secondary network device anda terminal device to be established, and the secondary network devicetransmits configuration information of the secondary connection to thefirst primary network device according to the secondary connectionaddition request message, the configuration information of the secondaryconnection being configured to establish the secondary connection.

In a first possible implementation mode of the fourth aspect, theoperation that the secondary network device transmits the configurationinformation of the secondary connection to the first primary networkdevice according to the secondary connection addition request messagemay include that: the secondary network device transmits anacknowledgement message of the secondary connection addition requestmessage to the first primary network device, the acknowledgement messageof the secondary connection addition request message carrying theconfiguration information of the secondary connection.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation mode ofthe fourth aspect, in a second implementation mode of the fourth aspect,the acknowledgement message of the secondary connection addition requestmessage may further carry identification information of at least onesecondary cell, and the at least one secondary cell may be a cell servedby the secondary network device.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation modes ofthe fourth aspect, in a third implementation mode of the fourth aspect,the secondary connection addition request message may carry auxiliaryinformation, the auxiliary information may include at least one ofmeasurement result information, access capability information of theterminal device or Quality of Service (QoS) information of data, and themeasurement result information may be configured to indicate linkquality information between the secondary network device and theterminal device.

In combination with the abovementioned possible implementation modes ofthe fourth aspect, in a fourth implementation mode of the fourth aspect,the operation that the secondary network device transmits theconfiguration information of the secondary connection to the firstprimary network device according to the secondary connection additionrequest message may include that: the secondary network device transmitsthe configuration information of the secondary connection to the firstprimary network device according to the auxiliary information and a loadcondition of the secondary network device.

A fifth aspect provides a device for data transmission, which isconfigured to execute the method in the first aspect or any possibleimplementation mode of the first aspect. Specifically, the deviceincludes units configured to execute the method in the first aspect orany possible implementation mode of the first aspect.

A sixth aspect provides a device for data transmission, which isconfigured to execute the method in the second aspect or any possibleimplementation mode of the second aspect. Specifically, the deviceincludes units configured to execute the method in the second aspect orany possible implementation mode of the second aspect.

A seventh aspect provides a device for data transmission, which isconfigured to execute the method in the third aspect or any possibleimplementation mode of the third aspect. Specifically, the deviceincludes units configured to execute the method in the third aspect orany possible implementation mode of the third aspect.

An eighth aspect provides a device for data transmission, which isconfigured to execute the method in the fourth aspect or any possibleimplementation mode of the fourth aspect. Specifically, the deviceincludes units configured to execute the method in the fourth aspect orany possible implementation mode of the fourth aspect.

A ninth aspect provides a device for data transmission, which includes areceiver, a transmitter, a memory, a processor and a bus system. Thereceiver, the transmitter, the memory and the processor are connectedthrough the bus system, the memory is configured to store aninstruction, the processor is configured to execute the instructionstored in the memory to control the receiver to receive signals andcontrol the transmitter to transmit signals, and when the processorexecutes the instruction stored in the memory, such execution enablesthe processor to execute the method in the first aspect or any possibleimplementation mode of the first aspect.

A tenth aspect provides a device for data transmission, which includes areceiver, a transmitter, a memory, a processor and a bus system. Thereceiver, the transmitter, the memory and the processor are connectedthrough the bus system, the memory is configured to store aninstruction, the processor is configured to execute the instructionstored in the memory to control the receiver to receive signals andcontrol the transmitter to transmit signals, and when the processorexecutes the instruction stored in the memory, such execution enablesthe processor to execute the method in the second aspect or any possibleimplementation mode of the second aspect.

An eleventh aspect provides a device for data transmission, whichincludes a receiver, a transmitter, a memory, a processor and a bussystem. The receiver, the transmitter, the memory and the processor areconnected through the bus system, the memory is configured to store aninstruction, the processor is configured to execute the instructionstored in the memory to control the receiver to receive signals andcontrol the transmitter to transmit signals, and when the processorexecutes the instruction stored in the memory, such execution enablesthe processor to execute the method in the third aspect or any possibleimplementation mode of the third aspect.

A twelfth aspect provides a device for data transmission, which includesa receiver, a transmitter, a memory, a processor and a bus system. Thereceiver, the transmitter, the memory and the processor are connectedthrough the bus system, the memory is configured to store aninstruction, the processor is configured to execute the instructionstored in the memory to control the receiver to receive signals andcontrol the transmitter to transmit signals, and when the processorexecutes the instruction stored in the memory, such execution enablesthe processor to execute the method in the fourth aspect or any possibleimplementation mode of the fourth aspect.

A thirteenth aspect provides a system for data transmission, whichincludes the device of the fifth aspect and the device of the sixthaspect.

A fourteenth aspect provides a system for data transmission, whichincludes the device of the fifth aspect, the device of the sixth aspectand the device of the seventh aspect.

A fifteenth aspect provides a system for data transmission, whichincludes the device of the fifth aspect, the device of the sixth aspect,the device of the seventh aspect and the device of the eighth aspect.

A sixteenth aspect provides a computer-readable medium, which isconfigured to store a computer program, the computer program includingan instruction configured to execute the method in the first aspect orany possible implementation mode of the first aspect.

A seventeenth aspect provides a computer-readable medium, which isconfigured to store a computer program, the computer program includingan instruction configured to execute the method in the second aspect orany possible implementation mode of the second aspect.

An eighteenth aspect provides a computer-readable medium, which isconfigured to store a computer program, the computer program includingan instruction configured to execute the method in the third aspect orany possible implementation mode of the third aspect.

A nineteenth aspect provides a computer-readable medium, which isconfigured to store a computer program, the computer program includingan instruction configured to execute the method in the fourth aspect orany possible implementation mode of the fourth aspect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In order to describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of thedisclosure more clearly, the drawings required to be used indescriptions about the embodiments or a conventional art will be simplyintroduced below. It is apparent that the drawings described below areonly some embodiments of the disclosure. Other drawings may further beobtained by those of ordinary skill in the art according to thesedrawings without creative work.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an application scenarioaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a method for data transmissionaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates another schematic diagram of a method for datatransmission according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates another schematic diagram of a method for datatransmission according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates another schematic diagram of a method for datatransmission according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates another schematic diagram of a method for datatransmission according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a device for datatransmission according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates another schematic block diagram of a device for datatransmission according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates another schematic block diagram of a device for datatransmission according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates another schematic block diagram of a device for datatransmission according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a system for datatransmission according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a system for datatransmission according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a system for datatransmission according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a device for datatransmission according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 15 illustrates another schematic block diagram of a device for datatransmission according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 16 illustrates another schematic block diagram of a device for datatransmission according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 17 illustrates another schematic block diagram of a device for datatransmission according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the disclosure will beclearly and completely described below in combination with the drawingsin the embodiments of the disclosure. It is apparent that the describedembodiments are not all embodiments but part of embodiments of thedisclosure. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill inthe art on the basis of the embodiments in the disclosure withoutcreative work shall fall within the scope of protection of thedisclosure.

It is to be understood that the technical solutions of the embodimentsof the disclosure may be applied to various communication systems, forexample, a Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM), a Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA) system, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access(WCDMA) system, a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), an LTE system, anLTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex(TDD), a Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), a WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system and acommunication system which may emerge in the future.

It is also to be understood that, in the embodiments of the disclosure,a terminal device may be called User Equipment (UE), a terminal device,a Mobile Station (MS), a mobile terminal, a terminal device in a future5G network or the like. The terminal device may communicate with one ormore core networks through a Radio Access Memory (RAN). For example, aterminal may be a mobile phone (or called a “cellular” phone) and acomputer with a mobile terminal. For example, the terminal may also be aportable, pocket, handheld, computer-embedded or vehicle-mounted mobiledevice and performs voice and/or data exchange with the RAN.

A first network device and a second network device may be configured tocommunicate with a mobile device. The network device may be a BaseTransceiver Station (BTS) in the GSM or CDMA, may also be a NodeB (NB)in WCDMA and may further be an Evolutional Node B (eNB or eNodeB) inLTE, or a relay station or access point, or a vehicle-mounted device, awearable device and an access network device in the future 5G network.

A core network device may be a Mobility Management Entity (MME) and mayalso be a Serving Gateway (S-GW) or a Packet Data Network Gateway(P-GW). There are no limits made in the application.

A bearer is a basic unit for control of an RAN side over a capacity,delay and bit rate of a user service. A user may use multiple bearersfor different services.

In the embodiments of the disclosure, the first network device and thesecond network device may be, for example, Macrocells, and a secondarynetwork device may be, for example, a Microcell, a Picocell and aFemtocell. However, the embodiments of the disclosure are not limitedthereto.

More specifically, a first primary network device may be an LTE networkdevice and the secondary network device is an NR network device. It isto be understood that the embodiments of the disclosure are not limitedthereto. The primary network device may also be a GSM network device, aCDMA network device and the like. The secondary network device may alsobe a GSM network device, a CDMA network device and the like. There areno limits made thereto in the embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an application scenarioaccording to the application. A network around a terminal deviceincludes a first primary network device 110 and at least one secondarynetwork device 120. The first primary network device 110 may belong toan LTE network and the secondary network device 120 may belong to an NRnetwork. A terminal device 130 may establish connections with both ofthe first primary network device 110 and the secondary network device120. The connection established between the terminal device 130 and thefirst primary network device 110 is a primary connection. The connectionestablished between the terminal device 130 and the secondary networkdevice 120 is a secondary connection. Control-plane data of the terminaldevice 130 may be transmitted through the primary connection. User-planedata of the terminal device may be transmitted through both of theprimary connection and the secondary connection and may also betransmitted only through the secondary connection. In the embodiment ofthe disclosure, the first primary network device 110 may select thesecondary network device 120 meeting a preset condition to transmit thecontrol-plane data of the terminal device 110, so that a load of thefirst primary network device 110 may further be reduced. For example,the preset condition may be that link quality between the secondarynetwork device 120 and the terminal device 130 meets a data transmissioncondition.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, the secondary network device 120may be flexibly deployed according to a service requirement and a userdensity and its function is to assist the first primary network device110 in sharing data. The data may include the user-plane data andcontrol-plane data of the terminal device 130. The secondary networkdevice 120 may be discontinuously deployed and relatively largeoverlapped areas between adjacent secondary cells may also be allowed.There are no limits made thereto in the embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for data transmission 200according to an embodiment of the disclosure. An execution body of themethod 200 may be, for example, the first primary network device 110 inFIG. 1 and is an access network device, for example, an eNB in LTE. Themethod 200 includes the following steps.

In S201, a terminal device transmits measurement result information of asecondary network device to a first primary network device in a processof accessing the first primary network device, the measurement resultinformation being configured to indicate link quality between thesecondary network device and the terminal device.

It is to be understood that the process that the terminal deviceaccesses the first primary network device may be a process that theterminal device accesses the first primary network device when datatransmission is required in an idle state and may also be that a networkdevice serving the terminal device is required to be switched from asecond primary network device to the first primary network device whenthe terminal device is in a data connection state. The specific step ofthe access process, to which the process that the terminal deviceaccesses the first primary network device refers, is not limited in theembodiment of the disclosure.

In S202, after the first primary network device receives the measurementresult information of the secondary network device, transmitted by theterminal device in the process of accessing the first primary networkdevice, the first primary network device determines to establish asecondary connection between the secondary network device and theterminal device according to the link quality between the secondarynetwork device and the terminal device.

It is to be understood that the secondary connection is configured fordata transmission and the data includes first control-plane data and/oruser-plane data.

In S203, the first primary network device establishes the secondaryconnection.

It is to be understood that the operation that the first primary networkdevice establishes the secondary connection may be considered as thatthe first primary network device receives the measurement resultinformation transmitted by the terminal device as an intermediate deviceof the terminal device and the secondary network device, transmits themeasurement result information to the secondary network device, receivesconfiguration information of the secondary connection from the secondarynetwork device, the configuration information of the secondaryconnection being configured to establish the secondary connectionbetween the secondary network device and the terminal device, andtransmits the configuration information of the secondary connection tothe terminal device, etc. A secondary connection establishment processmay be considered as an information forwarding process of the firstprimary network device. A terminal, after receiving the configurationinformation of the secondary connection, establishes the secondaryconnection with the secondary network device according to theconfiguration information of the secondary connection.

In S204, the terminal device accesses the secondary network devicethrough configuration information of the secondary connection.

Specifically, the terminal device may transmit the measurement resultinformation of the secondary network device to the first primary networkdevice in the process of accessing the first primary network device, thefirst primary network device, after receiving the measurement resultinformation of the terminal device, determines that the secondaryconnection between the secondary network device and the terminal deviceis required to be established according to the measurement resultinformation, then the first primary network device establishes thesecondary connection and the terminal device transmits data through thesecondary connection. In such a manner, the terminal device transmitsthe measurement result information of the secondary network device tothe first primary network device in the access process, so that the datamay be offloaded to the secondary network device as soon as possible,the data may be offloaded for the first primary network device throughthe secondary connection established by the first primary network deviceas soon as possible, and a transmission load of the first primarynetwork device may be reduced.

Alternatively, the secondary connection is configured to transmit thecontrol-plane data and/or the user-plane data. In a conventional art,only the user-plane data is shared for the first primary network devicein a data connection process. In such case, the secondary connectionestablished by the first primary network device in the process that theterminal device accesses the first primary network device may not onlyoffload the user-plane data for the first primary network device butalso offload the control-plane data for the first primary networkdevice. Therefore, an offloading capability of the secondary networkdevice for the primary network device is further improved, and thetransmission load of the first primary network device is reduced.

Furthermore, the secondary connection is configured to transmit thedata, and the data includes the user-plane data and the control-planedata. The secondary connection established by the first primary networkdevice may transmit the user-plane data and may also transmit firstcontrol-plane data. A connection between the first primary networkdevice and the terminal device may be called a primary connection. Theprimary connection may also transmit the user-plane data and may alsotransmit second control-plane data. That is, the user-plane data of theterminal device may only be transmitted through the primary connectionor transmitted through the secondary connection, or the user-plane datamay also be transmitted through both of the primary connection and thesecondary connection. The control-plane data of the terminal device mayonly be transmitted through the primary connection or transmittedthrough the secondary connection, or the control-plane data may also betransmitted through both of the primary connection and the secondaryconnection. A data transmission manner is not limited in the embodimentof the disclosure.

Furthermore, the data includes uplink data and downlink data. The uplinkdata includes uplink control-plane data and uplink user-plane data. Thedownlink data includes downlink control-plane data and downlinkuser-plane data. It can be understood that transmission in thedisclosure refers to uplink transmission and/or downlink transmission.

As an alternative embodiment, the terminal device in the idle statemeasures the secondary network device around the first network device.Alternatively, measurement of the terminal device over the secondarynetwork device may be measurement according to a network protocolspecification and may also be measurement according to a configurationof the first primary network device. For example, a protocol specifiesor the first primary network device configures that the secondarynetwork device around the first primary network device is measuredwithin a certain interval period. Alternatively, the terminal device maymeasure the secondary network device according to network configurationinformation in a received system message. There are no limits madethereto in the embodiment of the disclosure.

As an alternative embodiment, before the operation that the terminaldevice transmits the measurement result information of the secondarynetwork device to the first primary network device in the process ofaccessing the first primary network device, the method further includesthat: when channel quality between the terminal device and the secondarynetwork device meets a preset condition, the terminal device transmitsthe measurement result information to the first primary network devicein the process of accessing the first primary network device.

Specifically, the preset condition may be a specific period specified bya protocol, may also be that the terminal device detects that thechannel quality with the secondary network device is higher than channelquality with the first primary network device, may also be that channelquality of the secondary network device is detected to be higher than acertain threshold value, and may also be that present reference signalpower is lower than a set threshold value and the like. The terminaldevice may also measure in real time and report in real time, etc. Atriggering condition for measurement result information reporting of theterminal device is not limited in the embodiment of the disclosure.

As an alternative embodiment, the operation that the terminal devicetransmits the measurement result information of the secondary networkdevice to the first primary network device in the process of accessingthe first primary network device includes that: the terminal devicetransmits the measurement result information to the first primarynetwork device through an RRC connection establishment request message.The operation that the first primary network device receives themeasurement result information of the secondary network device,transmitted by the terminal device in the process of accessing theprimary network device, includes that: the first primary network devicereceives the measurement result information carried in the RRCconnection establishment request message.

As an alternative embodiment, the operation that the terminal devicetransmits the measurement result information of the secondary networkdevice to the first primary network device in the process of accessingthe first primary network device includes that: the terminal devicetransmits the measurement result information to the first primarynetwork device through an RRC connection establishment complete message,the RRC connection establishment complete message carrying themeasurement result information. The operation that the first primarynetwork device receives the measurement result information of thesecondary network device, transmitted by the terminal device in theprocess of accessing the primary network device, includes that: thefirst primary network device receives the measurement result informationcarried in the RRC connection establishment complete message.

Specifically, when the terminal device in the idle state has data to betransmitted, the terminal device initiates the RRC connectionestablishment request message to the first primary network device, andthe measurement result information of the secondary network device maybe carried in the RRC connection establishment request message. AfterRRC connection establishment is completed, the terminal device isrequired to transmit the RRC connection establishment complete messageto the first primary network device, and the measurement resultinformation of the secondary network device may be carried in the RRCconnection establishment complete message. In such a manner, themeasurement result information may be transmitted to the first primarynetwork device in the access process.

It is to be understood that, in the embodiment of the disclosure, theterminal device may carry the measurement result information of thesecondary network device in any uplink message for transmitting to thefirst network device. Alternatively, the measurement result informationmay be carried in an uplink message in the process that the terminaldevice accesses the first primary network device and may also betransmitted to the first network device as an independent uplinkmessage. The embodiment of the disclosure is not limited thereto.

As an alternative embodiment, the second primary network device receivesthe measurement result information transmitted by the terminal device,the measurement result information being configured to indicate the linkquality between the secondary network device and the terminal device.The second primary network device transmits the measurement resultinformation to the first primary network device to enable the firstprimary network device to determine to establish the secondaryconnection between the secondary network device and the terminal deviceaccording to the measurement result information. The first networkdevice is a target network device for handover of the terminal deviceand the second network device is a source network device for handover ofthe terminal device.

As an alternative embodiment, the operation that the terminal devicetransmits the measurement result information of the secondary networkdevice to the first primary network device in the process of accessingthe first primary network device includes that: the terminal devicetransmits the measurement result information to the first primarynetwork device through the second primary network device, themeasurement result information being carried in a measurement reporttransmitted to the second primary network device by the terminal deviceto enable the second primary network device to transmit a handoverrequest message to the first primary network device according to themeasurement report. The operation that the first primary network devicereceives the measurement result information of the secondary networkdevice, transmitted by the terminal device in the process of accessingthe primary network device, includes that: the first primary networkdevice receives the measurement result information carried in thehandover request message of the second primary network device, thehandover request message being further configured to request the networkdevice serving the terminal device to be switched from the secondprimary network device to the first primary network device.

As an alternative embodiment, the operation that the first primarynetwork device establishes the secondary connection includes that: afterthe first primary network device receives the handover request messagetransmitted by the second primary network device, the first primarynetwork device transmits an acknowledgement message of the handoverrequest message to the second primary network device, theacknowledgement message of the handover request message carrying theconfiguration information of the secondary connection to enable thesecond network device to transmit the configuration information of thesecondary connection to the terminal device and the configurationinformation of the secondary connection being configured to establishthe secondary connection between the secondary network device and theterminal device; the second primary network device transmits theconfiguration information of the secondary connection to the terminaldevice; and the terminal device receives the configuration informationof the secondary connection.

Specifically, when the terminal is in the data connection state, thenetwork device serving the terminal is the second network device. Theterminal device may transmit the measurement report to the secondnetwork device, the measurement report being a measurement report of thesecond network device. The measurement result information of thesecondary network device may be carried in the measurement report. Thesecond primary network device, when receiving the measurement report,acquires the measurement result information of the secondary networkdevice in the measurement report. When the second primary network devicedetermines that handover is required according to the measurementreport, namely the network device serving the terminal device isswitched from the second primary network device to the first primarynetwork device, the second primary network device may determine thesecondary network device around the first primary network deviceaccording to a present network topology structure and carries themeasurement result information corresponding to the secondary networkdevice around the first primary network device in the handover requestmessage for transmitting to the first primary network device. The firstprimary network device, when receiving the handover request message,carries the measurement result information in the handover requestmessage in a secondary connection addition request message fortransmitting to the secondary network device around the first primarynetwork device. The secondary network device, after receiving thesecondary connection addition request message, determines whetherestablishment of the secondary connection is allowed or not according tothe measurement result information and its own load state and, afterdetermining to establish the secondary connection, transmits anacknowledgement message of the secondary connection addition requestmessage to the first primary network device, the acknowledgement messageof the secondary connection addition request message carrying theconfiguration information of the secondary connection of the secondarynetwork device. The first primary network device carries theconfiguration information of the secondary connection in anacknowledgement message of the handover request message for transmittingto the second primary network device. The second primary network devicetransmits the configuration information of the secondary connection tothe terminal device. The terminal device establishes the secondaryconnection with the secondary network device around the first primarynetwork device for data transmission according to the configurationinformation of the secondary connection.

As an alternative embodiment, the operation that the terminal devicetransmits the measurement result information of the secondary networkdevice to the first primary network device in the process of accessingthe primary network device includes that: the terminal device transmitsthe measurement result information to the first primary network devicethrough a handover complete message, the handover complete message beingfurther configured to indicate that the network device serving theterminal device has been switched from the second primary network deviceto the first primary network device. The operation that the firstprimary network device receives the measurement result information ofthe secondary network device, transmitted by the terminal device in theprocess of accessing the primary network device, includes that: thefirst primary network device receives the measurement result informationcarried in the handover complete message from the terminal device.

Specifically, when the network device serving the terminal device isrequired to be switched from the second network device to the firstnetwork device, the measurement result information of the secondarynetwork device may be carried in the handover complete messagetransmitted to the first network device by the terminal device. In sucha manner, the terminal device may also establish the secondaryconnection in a handover process, and data transmission continuity isfurther ensured.

As an alternative embodiment, the secondary network device transmits theconfiguration information of the secondary connection to the firstprimary network device. S203 includes that: the first primary networkdevice receives the configuration information of the secondaryconnection from the secondary network device, the configurationinformation of the secondary connection being configured to establishthe secondary connection between the secondary network device and theterminal device; and the first primary network device transmits theconfiguration information of the secondary connection to the terminaldevice, and the terminal device receives the configuration informationof the secondary connection from the first primary network device.

Alternatively, the operation that the first primary network devicetransmits the configuration information of the secondary connection tothe terminal device includes that: the first primary network devicetransmits an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the terminaldevice, the RRC connection reconfiguration message carrying theconfiguration information of the secondary connection. The operationthat the terminal device receives the configuration information of thesecondary connection from the first primary network device includesthat: the terminal device receives the RRC connection reconfigurationmessage transmitted by the first primary network device, the RRCconnection reconfiguration message carrying the configurationinformation of the secondary connection.

It is to be understood that the configuration information of thesecondary connection may be carried in a downlink message transmitted tothe terminal device by the first primary network device. Alternatively,the configuration information of the secondary connection may be carriedin a downlink message for access of the terminal device to the firstprimary network device and the configuration information of thesecondary connection may also be independently transmitted to theterminal device. The embodiment of the disclosure is not limitedthereto.

Furthermore, the configuration information of the secondary connectionmay be configuration information of a bearer, configuration informationof a security context and the like. The embodiment of the disclosure isnot limited thereto.

As an alternative embodiment, the operation that the first primarynetwork device establishes the secondary connection includes that: thefirst primary network device transmits the secondary connection additionrequest message to the secondary network device, the secondaryconnection addition request message being configured to request thesecondary network device to be added as a network device for datatransmission; the first primary network device receives theacknowledgement message of the secondary connection addition requestmessage from the secondary network device, the acknowledgement messageof the secondary connection addition request message carrying theconfiguration information of the secondary connection and theconfiguration information of the secondary connection being configuredto establish the secondary connection between the secondary networkdevice and the terminal device; the first primary network deviceacquires the configuration information of the secondary connection; andthe first primary network device transmits the configuration informationof the secondary connection to the terminal device.

Alternatively, the secondary connection addition request message carriesat least one of the measurement result information of the secondarynetwork device, access capability information of the terminal device andQoS, so that the secondary network device may determine whetherestablishment of the secondary connection is allowed or not according tothe information. The secondary network device, responsive to determiningthat establishment of the secondary connection is allowed according tothe information and a present load state of the secondary networkdevice, returns the acknowledgement message of the secondary connectionaddition request message to the first primary network device, theacknowledgement message carrying the configuration information of thesecondary connection and the configuration information of the secondaryconnection being configured to establish the secondary connection. Thesecondary network device, responsive to determining that establishmentof the secondary connection is not allowed, returns failure indicationinformation to the first primary network device, the failure indicationinformation carrying a cause why establishment of the secondaryconnection is not allowed, for example: the QoS of the secondary networkdevice may not meet data transmission, the link quality of the secondarynetwork device is too low and the secondary network device is presentlyin a congestion state. When the first primary network device receivesthe measurement result information of the secondary network deviceagain, reported by the terminal device, the first primary network devicemay determine whether to transmit the measurement result information tothe secondary network device or not according to the failure cause inthe failure indication information. For example, if the failure cause ofthe secondary network device is network congestion, when the measurementresult information of the secondary network device is received again,the measurement result information may not be transmitted to thesecondary network device. Therefore, power consumption may be reduced.

As an alternative embodiment, before the operation that the firstprimary network device receives the measurement result information ofthe secondary network device, transmitted by the terminal device in theprocess of accessing the primary network device, the method furtherincludes that: the first primary network device transmits firstindication information to the terminal device, the first indicationinformation being configured to instruct the terminal device to transmitthe measurement result information to the first primary network device;and the terminal device receives the first indication informationtransmitted by the first primary network device. The operation that thefirst primary network device receives the measurement result informationof the secondary network device, transmitted by the terminal device inthe process of accessing the primary network device, further includesthat: the first primary network device receives the measurement resultinformation transmitted by the terminal device according to the firstindication information.

Furthermore, the first indication information may be configured toinstruct the terminal device to report the measurement resultinformation of the secondary network device and, for example, may be areport time of the measurement result information and a manner forreporting the measurement result information. Specifically, the firstindication information may instruct the terminal device to report in amanner of carrying the measurement result information in the RRCconnection establishment request message, may also instruct the terminaldevice to report in a manner of carrying the measurement resultinformation in the RRC connection establishment complete message, mayalso instruct the terminal device to report by carrying the measurementresult information in the measurement report and may further instructthe terminal device to report by carrying the measurement resultinformation in handover complete information. The embodiment of thedisclosure is not limited thereto. Of course, the first indicationinformation may also indicate a specific byte location of the specificmeasurement result information in the information.

Alternatively, before the operation that the first primary networkdevice transmits the first indication information to the terminaldevice, the method further includes that: the terminal device maytransmit third indication information to the first primary networkdevice, and the first primary network device receives the thirdindication information from the terminal device, the third indicationinformation being configured to indicate whether the terminal devicestores result indication information of the secondary network device ornot. Furthermore, the terminal device may carry the third indicationinformation in an uplink message transmitted to the first primarynetwork device. For example, if a special byte location in a certainuplink message is 0, it is indicated that the terminal device does notstore measurement indication information and, if the special bytelocation is 1, it is indicated that the terminal device stores themeasurement indication information. When receiving the third indicationinformation transmitted by the terminal device, the first primarynetwork device, responsive to determining that the terminal devicestores the measurement result indication information, transmits thefirst indication information to the terminal device to instruct theterminal device to report the measurement result information.

As an alternative embodiment, the operation that the first primarynetwork device determines to establish the secondary connection betweenthe secondary network device and the terminal device according to themeasurement result information includes that: the first primary networkdevice determines to establish the secondary connection between thesecondary network device and the terminal device according to a loadcondition of the first primary network device and the measurement resultinformation.

Specifically, the first primary network device may determine whether toestablish the secondary connection or not according to its own loadstate and the measurement result information of the secondary networkdevice. For example, when a load of the first primary network device isrelatively light, a few terminal devices access at present and thechannel quality of the secondary network device is ordinary, the firstprimary network device may determine not to establish the secondaryconnection and is also not required to transmit the secondary connectionaddition request message to the secondary network device. When the firstprimary network device is in the congestion state and the channelquality of the secondary network device is higher than the channelquality of the first primary network device, the first primary networkdevice determines that the secondary connection is required to beestablished and transmits the secondary connection addition requestmessage to the secondary network device to request the secondary networkdevice to share the load of the primary network device.

As an alternative embodiment, the acknowledgement message of thesecondary connection addition request message further carriesidentification information of at least one secondary cell and the atleast one secondary cell is a cell served by the secondary networkdevice. After the operation that the First primary network devicedetermines to establish the secondary connection between the secondarynetwork device and the terminal device according to the measurementresult information, the method further includes that: the first primarynetwork device transmits the identification information of the at leastone secondary cell to the terminal device, the terminal device receivesthe identification information of the at least one secondary cell fromthe first primary network device and the terminal device accesses the atleast one secondary cell according to the identification information.

Specifically, the secondary network device, after receiving thesecondary connection addition request message, determines whetherestablishment of the secondary connection is allowed or not according tothe measurement result information of the secondary network device,carried in the secondary connection addition request message, and theload state of the secondary network device and, when establishment ofthe secondary connection is allowed, returns the acknowledgement messageof the secondary connection addition request message to the firstprimary network device. The acknowledgement message may carry theconfiguration information of the secondary connection, and may furthercarry the identification information of the at least one secondary cell,which may be, for example, a cell identifier list. The first primarynetwork device, after receiving the acknowledgement message of thesecondary connection addition request message, transmits theidentification information of the at least one secondary cell to theterminal device. The terminal device accesses the correspondingsecondary cell according to the identification information of the cell.

As an alternative embodiment, after the operation that the first primarynetwork device establishes the secondary connection, the method furtherincludes that: the first primary network device transmits secondindication information to the secondary network device, and thesecondary network device receives the second indication informationtransmitted by the first primary network device, the second indicationinformation being configured to instruct the secondary network device totransmit the first control-plane data.

Specifically, the first control-plane data of the terminal device may bedirectly transmitted through the secondary network device. The firstcontrol-plane data may also be transmitted to the secondary networkdevice through the primary network device and transmitted to theterminal device by the secondary network device. Therefore, when thefirst control-plane data is required to be transmitted to the secondarynetwork device through the primary network device and then transmittedto the terminal device, the first primary network device may transmitthe second indication information to the secondary network device toinstruct the secondary network device to transmit the firstcontrol-plane data. That is, the secondary network device may benotified in a network configuration manner to transmit the firstcontrol-plane data.

As an alternative embodiment, the method further includes that: thefirst primary network device transmits configuration information of aprimary connection to the terminal device, the configuration informationof the primary connection being configured for the terminal device toestablish the primary connection with the first primary network deviceand the primary connection being configured for data transmission.

Alternatively, the data includes the first control-plane data and thesecond control-plane data.

Specifically, when a network side is required to transmit thecontrol-plane data to a terminal side, the control-plane data may betransmitted through the primary connection. Then, the first primarynetwork device is required to transmit the configuration information ofthe primary connection to the terminal device. If the control-plane datais transmitted through the secondary connection, the first primarynetwork device transmits the configuration information of the secondaryconnection to the terminal device. If the first control-plane data istransmitted through the secondary connection and the secondcontrol-plane data is transmitted through the primary connection, thefirst primary network device transmits the configuration information ofthe secondary connection and the configuration information of theprimary connection to the terminal device. The configuration informationof the primary connection and the configuration information of thesecondary connection may be transmitted to the terminal devicesimultaneously and may also be transmitted to the terminal devicesequentially. The embodiment of the disclosure is not limited thereto.

As an alternative embodiment, the first primary network device is anetwork device in an LTE network and the secondary network device is anetwork device in a 5G network.

It is to be understood that the control-plane data mentioned in theembodiment of the disclosure may be, for example, RRC signaling and theuser-plane data may be, for example, dedicated bearer data of a user.

Alternatively, data between an access network device of the terminaldevice and a core network may be directly transmitted with a corenetwork device through the first primary network device, or istransmitted with the core network device through the first primarynetwork device and the secondary network device respectively, or may bedirectly transmitted with the core network device through the secondarynetwork device, or a part of the data is directly transmitted with thecore network device through the first primary network device and theother part of the data is transmitted to the secondary network devicethrough the first primary network device and then transmitted from thesecondary network device to the terminal device. There are no limitsmade thereto in the embodiment of the disclosure.

The method for data transmission in the embodiments of the disclosurewill be described below in combination with FIG. 3 to FIG. 6.

FIG. 3 illustrates an execution process of the method for datatransmission of the embodiments of the disclosure when measurementresult information is carried in an RRC connection establishment requestmessage.

In S301, a terminal device determines the measurement resultinformation, namely executing measurement over a secondary networkdevice.

Alternatively, the measurement result information reflects a networkcondition of the secondary network device. The terminal device maymeasure the secondary network device according to configurationinformation in a system message. The terminal device may also measurethe secondary network device according to indication information of afirst primary network device. There are no limits made thereto in theembodiment of the disclosure.

In S302, the terminal device transmits the RRC connection establishmentrequest message to a first primary network device, the connectionestablishment request message carrying the measurement resultinformation.

Alternatively, when the terminal device has a service to be transmitted,the terminal transmits the RRC connection establishment request messageto the first primary network device. That the RRC connectionestablishment request message carries the measurement result informationis only a preferred embodiment. In the embodiment of the disclosure, themeasurement result information may also be reported to the first primarynetwork device in another manner.

In S303, the first primary network device transmits an RRC connectionestablishment message to the terminal device.

In S304, the terminal device transmits an RRC connection establishmentcomplete message to the first primary network device.

In S305, the first primary network device determines whether to transmita secondary connection addition request message to the secondary networkdevice or not according to at least one of the measurement resultinformation of the secondary network device and a load state of thefirst primary network device; and the first primary network device,responsive to determining to establish a secondary connection accordingto at least one of the measurement result information and the loadstate, transmits the secondary connection addition request message tothe secondary network device, the secondary connection addition requestmessage carrying the measurement result information of the secondarynetwork device.

It is to be understood that the terminal device may measure one or moresecondary network devices. The first primary network device, afterreceiving the measurement result information, may transmit the secondaryconnection addition request message to the one or more secondary networkdevices. Of course, the first primary network device may also transmitthe secondary connection addition request message to part of secondarynetwork devices in multiple secondary network devices according to itsown load state and the measurement result information, that is, onlypart of secondary network devices are required to share the present loadstate of the first primary network device. The embodiment of thedisclosure is not limited thereto.

In S306, the secondary network device, when receiving the secondaryconnection addition request message transmitted by the first primarynetwork device, determines whether establishment of the secondaryconnection is allowed or not according to the measurement resultinformation in the addition request message and a network load state ofthe secondary network device and, when establishment of the secondaryconnection is allowed, returns an acknowledgement message of thesecondary connection addition request message to the first primarynetwork device, the acknowledgement message carrying configurationinformation of the secondary connection and the configurationinformation of the secondary connection being configured to establishthe secondary connection.

In S307 the secondary network device, when refusing to establish thesecondary connection, returns failure indication information to thefirst primary network device, the failure indication informationcarrying a cause why establishment of the secondary connection is notallowed, for example: QoS of the secondary network device may not meetdata transmission, link quality of the secondary network device is toolow and the secondary network device is presently in a congestion state.There are no limits made thereto in the embodiment of the disclosure.

In S308, after S306, the first primary network device, when receivingfirst measurement result information transmitted by the secondarynetwork device, transmits the configuration information of the secondaryconnection to the terminal device. Alternatively, the configurationinformation of the secondary connection may be iterated in an RRCconnection reconfiguration message for transmitting to the terminaldevice.

In S309, the terminal device transmits an RRC connection establishmentreconfiguration complete message to the first primary network device,and then the terminal device may establish the secondary connection withthe secondary network device according to the configuration informationof the secondary connection for data transmission. The data may becontrol-plane data and/or user-plane data.

FIG. 4 illustrates an execution process of the method for datatransmission of the embodiments of the disclosure when measurementresult information is carried in an RRC connection establishmentcomplete message.

In S401, a terminal device determines the measurement resultinformation, namely executing measurement over a secondary networkdevice.

Alternatively, the measurement result information reflects a networkcondition of the secondary network device. The terminal device maymeasure the secondary network device according to configurationinformation in a system message. The terminal device may also measurethe secondary network device according to indication information of afirst primary network device. There are no limits made thereto in theembodiment of the disclosure.

In S402, the terminal device transmits an RRC connection establishmentrequest message to a first primary network device.

In S403, the first primary network device transmits an RRC connectionestablishment message to the terminal device.

In S404, the terminal device transmits the RRC connection establishmentcomplete message to the first primary network device, the connectionestablishment complete message carrying the measurement resultinformation of the secondary network device.

Alternatively, the RRC connection establishment complete messagecarrying the measurement result information is only a preferredembodiment. In the embodiment of the disclosure, the measurement resultinformation may also be reported to the first primary network device inanother manner.

It is to be understood that an execution sequence of S401, S402 and S403is not limited as long as S401 is executed before S404.

In S405, the first primary network device determines whether to transmita secondary connection addition request message to the secondary networkdevice or not according to at least one of the measurement resultinformation of the secondary network device and a load state of thefirst primary network device; and the first primary network device,responsive to determining to establish a secondary connection accordingto at least one of the measurement result information and the loadstate, transmits the secondary connection addition request message tothe secondary network device, the secondary connection addition requestmessage carrying the measurement result information of the secondarynetwork device.

In S406, the secondary network device, when receiving the secondaryconnection addition request message transmitted by the first primarynetwork device, determines whether establishment of the secondaryconnection is allowed or not according to the measurement resultinformation in the addition request message and a network load state ofthe secondary network device and, when establishment of the secondaryconnection is allowed, returns an acknowledgement message of thesecondary connection addition request message to the first primarynetwork device, the acknowledgement message carrying configurationinformation of the secondary connection and the configurationinformation of the secondary connection being configured to establishthe secondary connection.

In S407, the secondary network device, when refusing to establish thesecondary connection, returns failure indication information to thefirst primary network device, the failure indication informationcarrying a cause why establishment of the secondary connection is notallowed, for example: QoS of the secondary network device may not meetdata transmission, link quality of the secondary network device is toolow and the secondary network device is presently in a congestion state.

In S408, after S406, the first primary network device, when receivingfirst measurement result information transmitted by the secondarynetwork device, transmits the configuration information of the secondaryconnection to the terminal device. Alternatively, the configurationinformation of the secondary connection may be iterated in an RRCconnection reconfiguration message for transmitting to the terminaldevice.

In S409, the terminal device transmits an RRC connection establishmentreconfiguration complete message to the first primary network device,and then the terminal device may establish the secondary connection withthe secondary network device according to the configuration informationof the secondary connection for data transmission. The data may becontrol-plane data and/or user-plane data.

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 illustrate method for data transmissions in a handoverscenario according to the embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an execution process of the method for datatransmission of the embodiments of the disclosure when measurementresult information is carried in a handover request message.

In S501, a terminal device determines the measurement resultinformation, namely executing measurement over a secondary networkdevice.

Alternatively, the measurement result information reflects a networkcondition of the secondary network device. The terminal device maymeasure the secondary network device according to configurationinformation in a system message. The terminal device may also measurethe secondary network device according to indication information of afirst primary network device. There are no limits made thereto in theembodiment of the disclosure.

It is to be understood that the secondary network device measured by theterminal device in a handover process may be a secondary network deviceof the first primary network device 110, may also be a secondary networkdevice of a second primary network device 140 and may further be asecondary network device of another primary network device. Theembodiment of the disclosure is not limited thereto.

In S502, the terminal device, when transmitting a measurement report toa second primary network device 140, carries the measurement resultinformation of the secondary network device in the measurement reportfor transmitting to the second primary network device 140, themeasurement report being a measurement report generated in a datatransmission process of the terminal device and the second primarynetwork device.

In S503, the second primary network device 140, when receiving themeasurement report transmitted by the terminal, determines whether toperform handover or not according to present communication qualityinformation represented by the measurement report and, when handover isrequired, carries the measurement result information in the measurementreport in the handover request message for transmitting to the firstprimary network device.

It is to be understood that the second network device may determine thesecondary network device of the first primary network device accordingto a present network topology structure and transmit the measurementresult information corresponding to the secondary network device of thefirst primary network device to the first primary network device.

In S504, the first primary network device, when receiving the handoverrequest message, determines whether a secondary connection is requiredto be established or not according to the measurement result informationcarried in the handover request message and its own network state and,if the secondary connection is required to be established, transmits asecondary connection addition request message to the secondary networkdevice, the secondary connection addition request message carrying themeasurement result information of the secondary network device.

In S505, the secondary network device, when receiving the secondaryconnection addition request message transmitted by the first primarynetwork device, determines whether establishment of the secondaryconnection is allowed or not according to the measurement resultinformation in the addition request message and a network load state ofthe secondary network device and, when establishment of the secondaryconnection is allowed, returns an acknowledgement message of thesecondary connection addition request message to the first primarynetwork device, the acknowledgement message carrying configurationinformation of the secondary connection and the configurationinformation of the secondary connection being configured to establishthe secondary connection.

In S506, the secondary network device, when refusing to establish thesecondary connection, returns failure indication information to thefirst primary network device, the failure indication informationcarrying a cause why establishment of the secondary connection is notallowed, for example: QoS of the secondary network device may not meetdata transmission, link quality of the secondary network device is toolow and the secondary network device is presently in a congestion state.

In S507, after S505, the first primary network device transmits anacknowledgement message of the handover request message to the secondprimary network device, the acknowledgement message carrying theconfiguration information of the secondary connection.

In S508, the second primary network device, after receiving theacknowledgement message of the handover request message, transmits theconfiguration information of the secondary connection to the terminaldevice. Alternatively, the configuration information of the secondaryconnection may be carried in an RRC connection reconfiguration messagefor transmitting to the terminal device.

In S509, the terminal device transmits an RRC connection establishmentreconfiguration complete message to the first primary network device,and then the terminal device may establish the secondary connection withthe secondary network device according to the configuration informationof the secondary connection for data transmission. The data may becontrol-plane data and/or user-plane data.

FIG. 6 illustrates an execution process of the method for datatransmission of the embodiments of the disclosure when measurementresult information is carried in a handover complete message.

In S601, a terminal device determines the measurement resultinformation, namely executing measurement over a secondary networkdevice.

Alternatively, the measurement result information reflects a networkcondition of the secondary network device. The terminal device maymeasure the secondary network device according to configurationinformation in a system message. The terminal device may also measurethe secondary network device according to indication information of afirst primary network device. There are no limits made thereto in theembodiment of the disclosure.

It is to be understood that the secondary network device measured by theterminal device in a handover process may be a secondary network deviceof the first primary network device 110, may also be a secondary networkdevice of a second primary network device 140 and may further be asecondary network device of another primary network device. Theembodiment of the disclosure is not limited thereto.

In S602, the terminal device transmits a measurement report to a secondprimary network device 140, the measurement report being a measurementreport generated in a data transmission process of the terminal deviceand the second primary network device.

In S603, the second primary network device 140, when receiving themeasurement report transmitted by the terminal, determines whether toperform handover or not according to present communication qualityinformation represented by the measurement report and, when handover isrequired, the second primary network device transmits a handover requestmessage to a first primary network device.

It is to be understood that the second network device may determine thesecondary network device of the first primary network device accordingto a present network topology structure and transmit the measurementresult information corresponding to the secondary network device of thefirst primary network device to the first primary network device.

In S604, the first primary network device, responsive to determiningthat handover may be performed, transmits an acknowledgement message ofthe handover request message to the second primary network device.

In S605, the second primary network device transmits handover indicationinformation to the terminal device, the handover indication informationbeing configured to instruct the terminal device to access the firstnetwork device. That is, the second primary network device may beconsidered as a source network device and the first primary networkdevice may be considered as a target network device.

In S606, the terminal device transmits the handover complete message tothe first primary network device, the handover complete message carryingthe measurement result information of the secondary network device.

It is to be understood that a sequence of S601, S602, S603, S604 andS605 is not limited as long as S601 is executed before S606.

In S607, the first primary network device, after receiving the handovercomplete message, determines whether to establish a secondary connectionor not according to the measurement result information carried in thehandover complete message and a present load state of the first primarynetwork device and, responsive to determining that the secondaryconnection is required to be established, transmits the respectivelycorresponding measurement result information to the secondary networkdevice of the first primary network device according to a presentnetwork topology structure, the measurement result information beingcarried in a secondary connection addition request message fortransmitting to the secondary network device.

In S608, the secondary network device, when receiving the secondaryconnection addition request message transmitted by the first primarynetwork device, determines whether establishment of the secondaryconnection is allowed or not according to the measurement resultinformation in the addition request message and a network load state ofthe secondary network device and, when establishment of the secondaryconnection is allowed, returns an acknowledgement message of thesecondary connection addition request message to the first primarynetwork device, the acknowledgement message carrying configurationinformation of the secondary connection and the configurationinformation of the secondary connection being configured to establishthe secondary connection.

In S609, the secondary network device, when refusing to establish thesecondary connection, returns failure indication information to thefirst primary network device, the failure indication informationcarrying a cause why establishment of the secondary connection is notallowed, for example: QoS of the secondary network device may not meetdata transmission, link quality of the secondary network device is toolow and the secondary network device is presently in a congestion state.

In S610, after S608, the first primary network device transmits an RRCconnection reconfiguration message to the terminal device, the RRCconnection reconfiguration message carrying the configurationinformation of the secondary connection.

In S611, the terminal device transmits an RRC connection establishmentreconfiguration complete message to the first primary network device,and then the terminal device may establish the secondary connection withthe secondary network device according to the configuration informationof the secondary connection for data transmission. The data may becontrol-plane data and/or user-plane data.

FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic diagram of a device for data transmission700 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The device may be, forexample, a first primary network device. The device 700 includes areceiving module 710, a determination module 720 and an establishmentmodule 730.

The receiving module 710 is configured to receive measurement resultinformation of a secondary network device, transmitted by a terminaldevice in a process of accessing the first primary network device, themeasurement result information being configured to indicate link qualitybetween the secondary network device and the terminal device.

The determination module 720 is configured to determine to establish asecondary connection between the secondary network device and theterminal device according to the link quality between the secondarynetwork device and the terminal device.

The establishment module 730 is configured to establish the secondaryconnection.

As an alternative embodiment, the receiving module 710 is specificallyconfigured to receive the measurement result information carried in anRRC connection establishment request message or an RRC connectionestablishment complete message.

As an alternative embodiment, the receiving module 710 is specificallyconfigured to receive the measurement result information carried in ahandover complete message from the terminal device, the handovercomplete message being further configured to indicate that a networkdevice serving the terminal device has been switched from a secondnetwork device to the device 700.

As an alternative embodiment, the receiving module 710 is specificallyconfigured to receive the measurement result information carried in ahandover request message of the second primary network device, thehandover request message being further configured to request the networkdevice serving the terminal device to be switched from the secondprimary network device to the first primary network device.

As an alternative embodiment, the establishment module 730 isspecifically configured to, after the handover request messagetransmitted by the second primary network device is received, transmitan acknowledgement message of the handover request message to the secondprimary network device, the acknowledgement message of the handoverrequest message carrying configuration information of the secondaryconnection to enable the second network device to transmit theconfiguration information of the secondary connection to the terminaldevice and the configuration information of the secondary connectionbeing configured to establish the secondary connection between thesecondary network device and the terminal device.

Alternatively, the establishment module 730 may include a transmittingunit, configured to transmit the acknowledgement message of the handoverrequest message to the second primary network device.

As an alternative embodiment, the device 700 further includes: a firsttransmitting module, configured to, before the measurement resultinformation of the secondary network device, transmitted by the terminaldevice in the process of accessing the primary network device, isreceived, transmit first indication information to the terminal device,the first indication information being configured to instruct theterminal device to transmit the measurement result information to thefirst primary network device. The receiving module 710 is specificallyconfigured to receive the measurement result information transmitted bythe terminal device according to the first indication information.

As an alternative embodiment, the establishment module 730 isspecifically configured to transmit a secondary connection additionrequest message to the secondary network device, the secondaryconnection addition request message being configured to request thesecondary network device to be added as a network device for datatransmission; receive an acknowledgement message of the secondaryconnection addition request message from the secondary network device,the acknowledgement message of the secondary connection addition requestmessage carrying the configuration information of the secondaryconnection and the configuration information of the secondary connectionbeing configured to establish the secondary connection between thesecondary network device and the terminal device; acquire theconfiguration information of the secondary connection; and transmit theconfiguration information of the secondary connection to the terminaldevice.

Alternatively, the establishment module 730 may include a transmittingunit, a receiving unit, an acquisition unit and the transmitting unit.The transmitting unit is configured to transmit the secondary connectionaddition request message to the secondary network device. The receivingunit is configured to receive the acknowledgement message of thesecondary connection addition request message from the secondary networkdevice. The acquisition unit is configured to acquire the configurationinformation of the secondary connection. The transmitting unit isconfigured to transmit the configuration information of the secondaryconnection to the terminal device.

As an alternative embodiment, the determination module 720 isspecifically configured to determine to establish the secondaryconnection between the secondary network device and the terminal deviceaccording to a load condition of the first primary network device andthe measurement result information.

As an alternative embodiment, the device 700 further includes: a secondtransmitting module, configured to transmit configuration information ofa primary connection to the terminal device, the configurationinformation of the primary connection being configured for the terminaldevice to establish the primary connection with the device 700 and theprimary connection being configured for data transmission.

As an alternative embodiment, the device 700 is a network device in anLTE network and the secondary network device is a network device in a 5Gnetwork.

As an alternative embodiment, the secondary connection is configured totransmit first control-plane data and/or user-plane data.

It is to be understood that the device 700 described herein is embodiedin form of functional module. Term “module” mentioned herein may referto an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electroniccircuit, a processor (for example, a shared processor, a dedicatedprocessor or a group processor) and memory configured to execute one ormore software or firmware programs, a merged logic circuit and/oranother proper component supporting the described functions. In analternative example, those skilled in the art may know that the device700 may specifically be the first primary network device in theabovementioned embodiments and the device 700 may be configured toexecute each flow and/or step corresponding to the first primary networkdevice in the abovementioned method embodiments, which will not beelaborated herein for avoiding repetitions.

FIG. 8 illustrates a schematic diagram of a device for data transmission800 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. For example, thedevice may be a terminal device. The device 800 includes a transmittingmodule 810, a receiving module 820 and an access module 830.

The transmitting module 810 is configured for the device 800 to transmitmeasurement result information of a secondary network device to a firstprimary network device in a process of accessing the first primarynetwork device to enable the first primary network device to acquireconfiguration information of a secondary connection according to themeasurement result information, the measurement result information beingconfigured to indicate link quality between the secondary network deviceand the device 800.

The receiving module 820 is configured to receive the configurationinformation of the secondary connection from the first primary networkdevice, the configuration information of the secondary connection beingconfigured to establish the secondary connection between the secondarynetwork device and the device 800.

The access module 830 is configured to access the secondary networkdevice according to the configuration information of the secondaryconnection.

As an alternative embodiment, the transmitting module 810 isspecifically configured to transmit the measurement result informationto the first primary network device through an RRC connectionestablishment request message or an RRC connection establishmentcomplete message.

As an alternative embodiment, the transmitting module 810 isspecifically configured to transmit the measurement result informationto the first primary network device through a second primary networkdevice, the measurement result information being carried in ameasurement report transmitted to the second primary network device bythe device 800 to enable the second primary network device to transmit ahandover request message to the first primary network device accordingto the measurement report, the handover request message carrying themeasurement result information and the handover request message beingfurther configured to request a network device serving the device 800 tobe switched from the second primary network device to the first primarynetwork device.

As an alternative embodiment, the transmitting module 810 isspecifically configured to transmit the measurement result informationto the first primary network device through a handover complete message,the handover complete message being further configured to indicate thata network device serving the device 800 has been switched from thesecond network device to the first network device.

As an alternative embodiment, the receiving module 820 is furtherconfigured to, before the device 800 transmits the measurement resultinformation of the secondary network device to the first primary networkdevice in the process of accessing the first primary network device,receive first indication information transmitted by the first primarynetwork device, the first indication information being configured toindicate the device 800 to transmit the measurement result informationto the first primary network device. The transmitting module 810 isspecifically configured to transmit the measurement result informationto the first primary network device in the process of accessing thefirst primary network device according to the first indicationinformation.

As an alternative embodiment, the transmitting module 810 isspecifically configured for the device 800 to, before the device 800transmits the measurement result information of the secondary networkdevice to the first primary network device in the process of accessingthe first primary network device, when channel quality between thedevice 800 and the secondary network device meets a preset condition,transmit the measurement result information to the first primary networkdevice in the process of accessing the first primary network device.

As an alternative embodiment, the receiving module 820 is furtherconfigured to receive configuration information of a primary connectionfrom the first primary network device, the configuration information ofthe primary connection being configured for the device 800 to establishthe primary connection with the first primary network device and theprimary connection being configured for data transmission.

It is to be understood that the device 800 described herein is embodiedin form of functional module. Term “module” mentioned herein may referto an ASIC, an electronic circuit, a processor (for example, a sharedprocessor, a dedicated processor or a group processor) and memoryconfigured to execute one or more software or firmware programs, amerged logic circuit and/or another proper component supporting thedescribed functions. In an alternative example, those skilled in the artmay know that the device 800 may specifically be the terminal device inthe abovementioned embodiments and the device 800 may be configured toexecute each flow and/or step corresponding to the terminal device inthe abovementioned method embodiments, which will not be elaboratedherein for avoiding repetitions.

FIG. 9 illustrates a schematic diagram of a device for data transmission900 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. For example, thedevice may be a second primary network device. The device 900 includes areceiving module 910 and a transmitting module 920.

The receiving module 910 is configured to receive measurement resultinformation transmitted by a terminal device, the measurement resultinformation being configured to indicate link quality between asecondary network device and the terminal device.

The transmitting module 920 is configured to transmit the measurementresult information to a first primary network device to enable the firstprimary network device to determine to establish a secondary connectionbetween the secondary network device and the terminal device accordingto the measurement result information, the first network device being atarget network device for handover of the terminal device and the devicebeing a source network device for handover of the terminal device.

As an alternative embodiment, the receiving module 910 is specificallyconfigured to receive the measurement result information carried in ameasurement report. The transmitting module 920 is specificallyconfigured to transmit the measurement result information to the firstprimary network device through a handover request message, the handoverrequest message being further configured to request a network deviceserving the terminal device to be switched from the device to the firstprimary network device.

As an alternative embodiment, the receiving module 910 is furtherconfigured to, after the device transmits the measurement resultinformation to the first primary network device through the handoverrequest message, receive configuration information, carried in anacknowledgement message of the handover request message, of thesecondary connection from the first primary network device, theconfiguration information of the secondary connection being configuredto establish the secondary connection between the secondary networkdevice and the terminal device. The transmitting module 920 is furtherconfigured to transmit the configuration information of the secondaryconnection to the terminal device.

It is to be understood that the device 900 described herein is embodiedin form of functional module. Term “module” mentioned herein may referto an ASIC, an electronic circuit, a processor (for example, a sharedprocessor, a dedicated processor or a group processor) and memoryconfigured to execute one or more software or firmware programs, amerged logic circuit and/or another proper component supporting thedescribed functions. In an optional example, those skilled in the artmay know that the device 900 may specifically be the second primarynetwork device in the abovementioned embodiments and the device 900 maybe configured to execute each flow and/or step corresponding to thesecond primary network device in the abovementioned method embodiments,which will not be elaborated herein for avoiding repetitions.

FIG. 10 illustrates a schematic diagram of a device for datatransmission 1000 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Forexample, the device may be a secondary network device. The device 1000includes a receiving module 1010 and a transmitting module 1020.

The receiving module 1010 is configured to receive a secondaryconnection addition request message transmitted by a first primarynetwork device, the secondary connection addition request message beingconfigured to request a secondary connection between the secondarynetwork device and a terminal device to be established, the secondaryconnection being configured for data transmission and the data includingfirst control-plane data and user-plane data.

The transmitting module 1020 is configured to transmit configurationinformation of the secondary connection to the first primary networkdevice according to the secondary connection addition request message,the configuration information of the secondary connection beingconfigured to establish the secondary connection.

As an alternative embodiment, the transmitting module 1020 isspecifically configured for the secondary network device to transmit anacknowledgement message of the secondary connection addition requestmessage to the first primary network device, the acknowledgement messageof the secondary connection addition request message carrying theconfiguration information of the secondary connection.

As an alternative embodiment, the acknowledgement message of thesecondary connection addition request message further carriesidentification information of at least one secondary cell, and the atleast one secondary cell is a cell served by the secondary networkdevice.

As an alternative embodiment, the secondary connection addition requestmessage carries auxiliary information, the auxiliary informationincludes at least one of measurement result information, accesscapability information of the terminal device and QoS information of thedata, and the measurement result information is configured to indicatelink quality information between the secondary network device and theterminal device.

As an alternative embodiment, the operation that the secondary networkdevice transmits the configuration information of the secondaryconnection to the first primary network device according to thesecondary connection addition request message includes that: thesecondary network device transmits the configuration information of thesecondary connection to the first primary network device according tothe auxiliary information and a load condition of the secondary networkdevice.

It is to be understood that the device 1000 described herein is embodiedin form of functional module. Term “module” mentioned herein may referto an ASIC, an electronic circuit, a processor (for example, a sharedprocessor, a dedicated processor or a group processor) and memoryconfigured to execute one or more software or firmware programs, amerged logic circuit and/or another proper component supporting thedescribed functions. In an alternative example, those skilled in the artmay know that the device 1000 may specifically be the secondary networkdevice in the abovementioned embodiments and the device 1000 may beconfigured to execute each flow and/or step corresponding to thesecondary network device in the abovementioned method embodiments, whichwill not be elaborated herein for avoiding repetitions.

FIG. 11 is a schematic structure diagram of a system for datatransmission 1100 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Thecommunication system 1100 includes a device 700 and a device 800.

FIG. 12 is a schematic structure diagram of a system for datatransmission 1200 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Thecommunication system 1200 includes a device 700, a device 800 and adevice 900.

FIG. 13 is a schematic structure diagram of a system for datatransmission 1300 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Thecommunication system 1300 includes a device 700, a device 800 and adevice 1000.

FIG. 14 illustrates a device for data transmission 1400 according to anembodiment of the disclosure. The device 1400 includes a receiver 1410,a processor 1420, a sender 1430, a memory 1440 and a bus system 1450.The receiver 1410, the processor 1420, the sender 1430 and the memory1440 are connected through the bus system 1450. The memory 1440 isconfigured to store an instruction. The processor 1420 is configured toexecute the instruction stored in the memory 1440 to control thereceiver 1410 to receive a signal and control the sender 1430 totransmit an instruction.

The receiver 1410 is configured to receive measurement resultinformation of a secondary network device, transmitted by a terminaldevice in a process of accessing the first primary network device, themeasurement result information being configured to indicate link qualitybetween the secondary network device and the terminal device. Theprocessor 1420 is configured to determine to establish a secondaryconnection between the secondary network device and the terminal deviceaccording to the link quality between the secondary network device andthe terminal device. The processor 1420 is configured to establish thesecondary connection.

It is to be understood that the device 1400 may specifically be thefirst primary network device in the abovementioned embodiments and maybe configured to execute each step and/or flow corresponding to thefirst primary device in the abovementioned method embodiments.Alternatively, the memory 1440 may include a Read-Only Memory (ROM) anda Random Access Memory (RAM) and provides an instruction and data forthe processor. A part of the memory may further include a nonvolatileRAM. For example, the memory may further store information of a devicetype. The processor 1420 may be configured to execute the instructionstored in the memory. When the processor executes the instruction, theprocessor may execute each step corresponding to the first primarynetwork device in the abovementioned method embodiments.

FIG. 15 illustrates a device for data transmission 1500 according to anembodiment of the disclosure. The device 1500 includes a receiver 1510,a processor 1520, a sender 1530, a memory 1540 and a bus system 1550.The receiver 1510, the processor 1520, the sender 1530 and the memory1540 are connected through the bus system 1550. The memory 1540 isconfigured to store an instruction. The processor 1520 is configured toexecute the instruction stored in the memory 1540 to control thereceiver 1510 to receive a signal and control the sender 1530 to send aninstruction.

The sender 1530 is configured for the device to transmit measurementresult information of a secondary network device to a first primarynetwork device in a process of accessing the first primary networkdevice to enable the first primary network device to acquireconfiguration information of a secondary connection according to themeasurement result information, the measurement result information beingconfigured to indicate link quality between the secondary network deviceand the device. The receiver 1510 is configured to receive theconfiguration information of the secondary connection from the firstprimary network device. The processor 1520 is configured to access thesecondary network device according to the configuration information ofthe secondary connection.

It is to be understood that the device 1500 may specifically be theterminal device in the abovementioned embodiments and may be configuredto execute each step and/or flow corresponding to the terminal device inthe abovementioned method embodiments. Alternatively, the memory 1540may include a ROM and a RAM and provides an instruction and data for theprocessor. A part of the memory may further include a nonvolatile RAM.For example, the memory may further store information of a device type.The processor 1520 may be configured to execute the instruction storedin the memory, and when the processor executes the instruction, theprocessor may execute each step corresponding to the terminal device inthe abovementioned method embodiments.

FIG. 16 illustrates a device for data transmission 1600 according to anembodiment of the disclosure. The device 1600 includes a receiver 1610,a processor 1620, a sender 1630, a memory 1640 and a bus system 1650.The receiver 1610, the processor 1620, the sender 1630 and the memory1640 are connected through the bus system 1650. The memory 1640 isconfigured to store an instruction. The processor 1620 is configured toexecute the instruction stored in the memory 1640 to control thereceiver 1610 to receive a signal and control the sender 1630 to send aninstruction.

The receiver 1610 is configured to receive measurement resultinformation sent by a terminal device, the measurement resultinformation being configured to indicate link quality between asecondary network device and the terminal device. The sender 1630 isconfigured for the device 1600 to send the measurement resultinformation to a first primary network device in a process of handoverto the first primary network device to enable the first primary networkdevice to determine to establish a secondary connection between thesecondary network device and the terminal device according to themeasurement result information.

It is to be understood that the device 1600 may specifically be thesecond primary network device in the abovementioned embodiments and maybe configured to execute each step and/or flow corresponding to thesecond primary device in the abovementioned method embodiments.Alternatively, the memory 1640 may include a ROM and a RAM and providesan instruction and data for the processor. A part of the memory mayfurther include a nonvolatile RAM. For example, the memory may furtherstore information of a device type. The processor 1620 may be configuredto execute the instruction stored in the memory. When the processorexecutes the instruction, the processor may execute each stepcorresponding to the second primary network device in the abovementionedmethod embodiments.

FIG. 17 illustrates a device for data transmission 1700 according to anembodiment of the disclosure. The device 1700 includes a receiver 1710,a processor 1720, a sender 1730, a memory 1740 and a bus system 1750.The receiver 1710, the processor 1720, the sender 1730 and the memory1740 are connected through the bus system 1750. The memory 1740 isconfigured to store an instruction. The processor 1720 is configured toexecute the instruction stored in the memory 1740 to control thereceiver 1710 to receive a signal and control the sender 1730 to send aninstruction.

The receiver 1710 is configured to receive a secondary connectionaddition request message sent by a first primary network device, thesecondary connection addition request message being configured torequest a secondary connection between the secondary network device anda terminal device to be established. The sender 1730 is configured tosend configuration information of the secondary connection to the firstprimary network device according to the secondary connection additionrequest message, the configuration information of the secondaryconnection being configured to establish the secondary connection.

It is to be understood that the device 1700 may specifically be thesecondary network device in the abovementioned embodiments and may beconfigured to execute each step and/or flow corresponding to thesecondary network device in the abovementioned method embodiments.Alternatively, the memory 1740 may include a ROM and a RAM and providesan instruction and data for the processor. A part of the memory mayfurther include a nonvolatile RAM. For example, the memory may furtherstore information of a device type. The processor 1720 may be configuredto execute the instruction stored in the memory. When the processorexecutes the instruction, the processor may execute each stepcorresponding to the secondary network device in the abovementionedmethod embodiments.

It is to be understood that, in the embodiments of the disclosure, theprocessor 1420, the processor 1520, the processor 1620 and the processor1720 may be Central Processing Units (CPUs) and the processors may alsobe other universal processors, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), ASICs,Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logicdevices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices and discrete hardwarecomponents and the like. The universal processor may be a microprocessoror the processor may also be any conventional processor and the like.

It should be understood that term “and/or” in the disclosure is only anassociation relationship describing associated objects and representsthat three relationships may exist. For example, A and/or B mayrepresent three conditions: i.e., independent existence of A, existenceof both A and B and independent existence of B. In addition, character“/” in the disclosure usually represents that previous and nextassociated objects form an “or” relationship.

It is to be understood that, in various embodiments of the disclosure, amagnitude of a sequence number of each process does not mean anexecution sequence and the execution sequence of each process should bedetermined by its function and an internal logic and should not form anylimit to an implementation process of the embodiments of the disclosure.

Those of ordinary skill in the art may realize that the units andalgorithm steps of each example described in combination with theembodiments disclosed in the disclosure may be implemented by electronichardware or a combination of computer software and the electronichardware. Whether these functions are executed in a hardware or softwaremanner depends on specific applications and design constraints of thetechnical solutions. Professionals may realize the described functionsfor each specific application by use of different methods, but suchrealization shall fall within the scope of the disclosure.

Those skilled in the art may clearly learn about that specific workingprocesses of the system, device and unit described above may refer tothe corresponding processes in the method embodiment and will not beelaborated herein for convenient and brief description.

In some embodiments provided by the application, it is to be understoodthat the disclosed system, device and method may be implemented inanother manner. For example, the device embodiment described above isonly schematic, and for example, division of the units is only logicfunction division, and other division manners may be adopted duringpractical implementation. For example, multiple units or components maybe combined or integrated into another system, or some characteristicsmay be neglected or not executed. In addition, coupling or directcoupling or communication connection between each displayed or discussedcomponent may be indirect coupling or communication connection,implemented through some interfaces, of the device or the units, and maybe electrical and mechanical or adopt other forms.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physicallyseparated, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physicalunits, and namely may be located in the same place, or may also bedistributed to multiple network units. Part or all of the units may beselected to achieve the purpose of the solutions of the embodimentsaccording to a practical requirement.

In addition, each function unit in each embodiment of the disclosure maybe integrated into a processing unit, each unit may also existindependently, and two or more than two units may also be integratedinto a unit.

When being realized in form of software functional unit and sold or usedas an independent product, the function may also be stored in acomputer-readable storage medium. Based on such an understanding, thetechnical solutions of the disclosure substantially or parts makingcontributions to the conventional art or part of the technical solutionsmay be embodied in form of software product, and the computer softwareproduct is stored in a storage medium, including a plurality ofinstructions configured to enable a computer device (which may be apersonal computer, a server, a network device or the like) to executeall or part of the steps of the method in each embodiment of thedisclosure. The abovementioned storage medium includes: various mediacapable of storing program codes such as a U disk, a mobile hard disk, aROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

The above is only the specific implementation mode of the disclosure andnot intended to limit the scope of protection of the disclosure. Anyvariations or replacements apparent to those skilled in the art withinthe technical scope disclosed by the disclosure shall fall within thescope of protection of the disclosure. Therefore, the scope ofprotection of the disclosure shall be subject to the scope of protectionof the claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for data transmission, comprising:receiving, by a first primary network device, measurement resultinformation of a secondary network device, transmitted by a terminaldevice in a process of accessing the first primary network device, themeasurement result information being configured to indicate link qualitybetween the secondary network device and the terminal device;determining, by the first primary network device, to establish asecondary connection between the secondary network device and theterminal device according to the link quality between the secondarynetwork device and the terminal device; transmitting, by the firstprimary network device, a secondary connection addition request messageto the secondary network device, the secondary connection additionrequest message being configured to request the secondary network deviceto be added as a network device for data transmission; receiving, by thefirst primary network device, an acknowledgement message of thesecondary connection addition request message from the secondary networkdevice, the acknowledgement message of the secondary connection additionrequest message carrying the configuration information of the secondaryconnection and the configuration information of the secondary connectionbeing configured to establish the secondary connection between thesecondary network device and the terminal device; acquiring, by thefirst primary network device, the configuration information of thesecondary connection; and transmitting, by the first primary networkdevice, the configuration information of the secondary connection to theterminal device.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving, by thefirst primary network device, the measurement result information of thesecondary network device, transmitted by the terminal device in theprocess of accessing the first primary network device comprises:receiving, by the first primary network device, the measurement resultinformation carried in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connectionestablishment request message or an RRC connection establishmentcomplete message.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving, by thefirst primary network device, the measurement result information of thesecondary network device, transmitted by the terminal device in theprocess of accessing the primary network device comprises: receiving, bythe first primary network device, the measurement result informationcarried in a handover complete message from the terminal device, thehandover complete message being further configured to indicate that anetwork device serving the terminal device has been switched from asecond primary network device to the first primary network device. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein receiving, by the first primary networkdevice, the measurement result information of the secondary networkdevice, transmitted by the terminal device in the process of accessingthe primary network device comprises: receiving, by the first primarynetwork device, the measurement result information carried in a handoverrequest message from the second primary network device, the handoverrequest message being further configured to request a network deviceserving the terminal device to be switched from the second primarynetwork device to the first primary network device.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein establishing, by the first primary network device, thesecondary connection comprises: after receiving, by the first primarynetwork device, the measurement result information carried in thehandover request message from the second primary network device,transmitting, by the first primary network device, an acknowledgementmessage of the handover request message to the second primary networkdevice, the acknowledgement message of the handover request messagecarrying configuration information of the secondary connection to enablethe second primary network device to transmit the configurationinformation of the secondary connection to the terminal device, and theconfiguration information of the secondary connection being configuredto establish the secondary connection between the secondary networkdevice and the terminal device.
 6. The method of claim 1, beforereceiving, by the first primary network device, the measurement resultinformation of the secondary network device, transmitted by the terminaldevice in the process of accessing the primary network device, furthercomprising: transmitting, by the first primary network device, firstindication information to the terminal device, the first indicationinformation being configured to instruct the terminal device to transmitthe measurement result information to the first primary network device,wherein receiving, by the first primary network device, the measurementresult information of the secondary network device, transmitted by theterminal device in the process of accessing the primary network devicecomprises: receiving, by the first primary network device, themeasurement result information transmitted by the terminal deviceaccording to the first indication information.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein determining, by the first primary network device, to establishthe secondary connection between the secondary network device and theterminal device according to the measurement result informationcomprises: determining, by the first primary network device, toestablish the secondary connection between the secondary network deviceand the terminal device according to a load condition of the firstprimary network device and the measurement result information.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting, by the firstprimary network device, configuration information of a primaryconnection to the terminal device, the configuration information of theprimary connection being configured for the terminal device to establishthe primary connection with the first primary network device, and theprimary connection being configured for data transmission.
 9. The methodof claim 1, wherein the first primary network device is a network devicein a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network and the secondary network deviceis a network device in a 5th-Generation (5G) network.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the secondary connection is configured to transmit atleast one of first control-plane data or user-plane data.